BACKGROUND: Forestry and hunting in Germany enjoys a long, illustrious history and tradition that continues to the present day. On July 8^TH 1933 Hermann Göring was appointed as Reichsforst und Jägermeister, (National Forestry and Hunting Master). In his position as Reichsforst und Jägermeister Göring was in charge of the, Reichsforstamt, (National Forestry Department), with the mandate of administration of all aspects of forestry and hunting including the development, maintenance and conservation of all the forests and wild game within Greater Germany. Originally each individual German state had their own forestry service with different mandates and regulations which were to become standardized after the NSDAP, Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, (National Socialist German Worker’s Party), established the Reichsforstamt. The Reichsforstamt was sub-divided into four main branches of service consisting of the, Gemeinde Forest Dienst, (General Forestry Service), the Private Forest Dienst, (Private Forestry Service), the Heeres Forest Dienst, (Army Forestry Service), and the Luftwaffe Forest Dienst, (Air-Force Forestry Service). The Reichsforstamt would be comparable to most nation’s forest ranger and game warden services. Each of the four forestry branches of service basically provided the same functions with the main difference being the particular parcels of land, and the corresponding wild life, each was responsible for. As the designations indicate the Heeres Forest Dienst and the Luftwaffe Forest Dienst were responsible for parcels of land owned by the respective branches of service while the Gemeinde Forest Dienst was responsible for all other public/government owned properties. The Private Forest Dienst was responsible for all privately owned property with the main difference being that all services were charged to the particular property owner. Personnel serving with the assorted forestry services were organized into two, basic, authoritative positions consisting of Operational Officials and Administrative Officials. The two positions were sub-divided into career levels with Operational Officials being classed as medium and elevated career levels and Administrative Officials being classed as high career level personnel. Of Note: The career level was determined by the education and/or experience of the individual. Although independent of each other all four branches of forestry service had the same mandate and personnel had specific, although similar, uniforms, insignia and equipment that included a traditional style, service cutlass. The assorted forestry service cutlass’s were private purchase items that were only available to qualified personnel with the appropriate documentation. This private purchase arrangement led to the blade manufacturers producing a wide variety of styles and patterns to satisfy the personal taste of the purchasers. One of the prescribed variations in the cutlass’s was that forestry Officials with high grade careers were permitted to have the more expensive, genuine ivory grips, while those Officials with medium and elevated careers were to have staghorn grips. Of Note: The forester’s cutlass has been utilized for centuries and is still in use today. The design of the cutlass has remained virtually unchanged through-out the years making it virtually impossible to attribute an exact age with 100% certainty. This example displays the proper age and manufacturing techniques of a Third Reich era produced forester’s cutlass